In keeping with the spirit of Hardcare's historical posts, here's another.
I acquired a diary/journal of a Civil War veteran who actually lived on my street in northeast Massachusetts. It was written in the mid to late 1870s. The handwriting is perfect, the ink hasn't faded, the pages are in great shape.
He sold carriages over the road, mostly in New York. He loved to hunt with a shotgun (apparently he had a problem with caps not igniting). This entry from 1877 is interesting:

"Saturday, April 28th, 1877
At Lovells gun store in Boston I met a gentleman who was evidently not only a thorough sportsman but also a man of culture and ability. During a conversation with him I acquired several new ideas that will be of value. One idea is that the reason why those caps miss fire sometimes is this – my method of setting the caps is by repeated blows of the cap setter. This method sometimes loosens the fulminating powder in the caps, and the caps in which the powder is thus loosened are liable to miss fire. He also informs me that an appliance is being manufactured by which the caps are set by pressure, thus obviating this objection."